CPA equipped electrical connectors have a CPA mechanism that can be operated only when the electrical connector is fully mated to a complimentary connector. If the electrical connector is not fully mated, the CPA mechanism is locked by a housing of the electrical connector, alerting a user that the mating is not complete.
A conventional CPA mechanism, such as those seen in Japanese Patent No.'s 2003-264039 and 2008-533684, includes a locking member that is locked by the housing of the connector, and an operating member that communicates with the locking portion. After the electrical connector is mated to the complimentary connector, the mating status of the connection can be determined by whether the CPA mechanism operates. If the CPA mechanism can be operated through pressing the operating member, then confirmation that the connector is mated can be established. If the CPA mechanism cannot be operated, then the user is alerted that the electrical connector is not fully mated to the complimentary connector
While conventional CPA-equipped electrical connectors provide an effective mechanism for determining the mating status, the effectiveness is entirely dependent on the user actually operating the CPA mechanism. When the user forgets to operate the conventional CPA mechanism, there is no feedback mechanism to alert the user of the mistake.
Consequently, there is a need for CPA-equipped electrical connectors that provide a feedback mechanism even in the absence of the user operating the CPA mechanism.